The indie film champion helped launch the Independent Film Channel in 1994 and created IFC Films.

Capping off a four-decade career in independent film and television, Jonathan Sehring announced today he was stepping down as co-president of IFC Films, the New York City-based film production and distribution company he helped create exactly 20 years ago. According to Deadline, which broke the news, Sehring is leaving of his own accord, opting to take time for himself, but retaining the right to pursue other endeavors in the independent film space in the future.

Sehring helped launch the Independent Film Channel in 1994 and later created IFC Films, which encompasses IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. The film distribution labels are owned and operated by AMC Networks.

“I’ve been contemplating this move for several years and on the 20th anniversary of our launching IFC Films, it just felt like the right time,” Sehring said. “I am forever grateful to Jim Dolan and Chuck Dolan, Marc Lustgarten and Josh Sapan for the unbelievable opportunities they afforded me since I joined the organization nearly 40 years ago. I have had two incredible careers at AMC Networks, 20 years in film and 20 years in television, and I am immensely proud of the films and television shows we produced and distributed, the brands we built, the businesses we launched and all that we have accomplished during my time with the organization.

IFC Films co-president Lisa Schwartz will guide the company into the future, along with EVP Acquisitions and Productions Arianna Bocco and John Vanco, who will continue in his role as Senior Vice President/General Manager of the IFC Center.

A longtime supporter of many renowned independent filmmakers, Sehring’s most ambitious and defining project was Richard Linklater’s Oscar-winning 2014 film “Boyhood,” a project Sehring funded through its incredible 12-year production. In addition to earning Patricia Arquette an Oscar for her performance, “Boyhood” was nominated for Best Picture.